Is the Italian case exceptional or common? COVID management and the Parliament- Government relationship in Italy, England, France, and Germany

This chapter carries out a comparative study of Govern- ment-Parliament relations in Italy, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany during the Covid-19 period. The aim is to verify whether the centralisation of power tendencies witnessed in Italy were common to other countries. For every State, we will analyse the role played by the Government, Parliament, and other Institutions in the decision-making process used to impose lockdowns and health measures. In all nations, scholars have raised similar criticisms of their Governments’ actions, emphasising the marginalisation of Parliaments and the potential un- constitutionality of certain policies. Italy’s crisis-management frame- work doesn’t differ significantly from the one adopted by other na- tions. However, a difference worth highlighting is that, to date, Italy has managed the crisis with legislative tools not conceived for any emergency purpose due to the absence of state of emergency consti- tutional provisions and the lack of an anti-pandemic law.